The graph below shows the way people of Somecountry invested their money during the years 2001 – 2006.
Sample Response
Write a report for a university tutor describing the information shown.
Write at least 150 words
The bar graph illustrates the amount invested in bonds and stocksamounts of investment in bonds and stocks in Somecountry from 2001 to 2006. It is noticeable that the investment in bonds and stocksmoney used to buy bonds and stocks showed an upward trend throughout the entire period.
In 2001, stock investments stoodstarted at 210 billion, which was just over twice the amount invested in bondsalmost double the amount of bonds, at 100 billion. The stock figures rose slightlyThe stock figures slightly rose to 216 billion in 2002by 6 billion in 2002, and in 2003in the following year theyit continued to increase to 227 billion. Similarly, investment in bondsthe amounts of money that were invested in bonds went up gradually over the following two yearsin the two following years to 123 and 157 billion respectively.
There was a surge of investment inon stocks in 2004 (289 billion) and then continued to climbbefore it continued to climb further and peaked at 311 billion in 2006. In contrast, investment in bonds increased only slightlyonly a small increase in money used to buy bonds was seen in 2004 (162 billion). Investment in bondsThe flow of funds to bonds then grew steadilysteady grew to 179 billion in 2005 before peaking at 188 billion in the last year of the period.
To sum up, stocks werestocks have been the most popular investment from 2001 to 2006.
Why this response received Band 7.5
The report’s strongest feature is its accurate selection and comparison of the main movements, supported by well-chosen figures and a clear overview that both investments rose. Its main limitation is language control, with several agreement, word-form, and collocation slips, while the omission of the 2005 stock figure slightly reduces completeness. The highest priority is to proofread sentence grammar and use precise investment collocations while retaining the effective data grouping.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The response presents a clear overview, accurately reports nearly all key values, and makes relevant comparisons between stocks and bonds.
Include the 2005 stock value and state explicitly in the overview that stocks remained higher throughout.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information progresses logically from the overview to chronological detail, with clear paragraphing and generally effective linking.
Integrate the final comparison into the overview and refine links such as ‘Similarly’ and ‘In contrast’ so each relationship is exact.
Lexical Resource
The response uses a good range of trend and investment vocabulary, although a few collocations and word forms are inaccurate.
Use precise forms such as ‘investment in stocks’ and ‘grew steadily,’ and avoid switching unnecessarily among less natural paraphrases.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A variety of simple and complex sentences is used with generally good control, but several agreement and reference errors remain.
Check subject–verb agreement, adverb forms, and pronoun reference, especially in sentences describing plural figures.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The graph below shows the way people of Somecountry invested their money during the years 2001 – 2006.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.